Eureka Names Michelle Reef Head Volleyball Coach

EUREKA, Ill. – Michelle Reef has been named the new volleyball head coach at Eureka College, according to an announcement from Eureka Director of Athletics Paul Bryant on Thursday. The Monticello, Ill. native, who will become the 11th head coach in program history, owns nearly a decade of experience as a volleyball head coach and was a four-year NCAA Division III volleyball student-athlete at Monmouth College.

Reef comes to Eureka after a 10-year coaching career at Prime Time Volleyball Club in Champaign, Ill. Reef began her tenure at Prime Time in November 2000, facilitating team practices, organizing fitness training for teams and developing practice plans for all coaches within the club. Reef also served as the Club Director at Prime Time from 2002 until 2005. A total of 56 players from Prime Time went on to play volleyball at the collegiate level during Reef's tenure in the program, 18 of which played at NCAA Division III schools.

In addition to her coaching experience at the high school club level, Reef was the volleyball head coach at Urbana High School for five seasons from 2000 until 2004.

Reef was a four-year starter at outside hitter for Monmouth from 1995 through 1998. She finished her career ranked second all-time at Monmouth with 1,135 career digs, a mark that currently ranks ninth all-time at MC. Her 525 digs as a senior in 1998 rank ninth in single-season program history. She served as team captain for the Fighting Scots and earned All-Midwest Conference South Division Second Team honors as a junior in 1997 and again in 1998. She earned a B.A. in mathematics and business administration from Monmouth in 1999.

"It is with great pleasure and excitement we welcome coach Michelle Reef as our new volleyball head coach," Bryant said on Thursday. "Coach Reef has demonstrated great success as a volleyball head coach and we are confident she will bring that success to our promising volleyball program."

Three starters and 11 letterwinners, including All-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference choices Courtney Kincaid (Green Valley, Ill./Midwest Central H.S.) and Peyton McAtee (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.), have remaining eligibility to return for the 2012 season. The Red Devils went 9-19 last season and 6-10 in the SLIAC for a sixth-place finish. Reef replaces Bethany Dulle, who resigned last month after one season.

Courtesy Eureka College sports information